Saving Captain Rogers
by offcolor.darkrai
Summary: (Read Saving Mr. Stark first.) James has been waiting for this since the moment he'd heard the news. His best friend, his last target, his brother has been found. James has one person left to save. And the universe, but that's neither here nor there.


Saving Captain Rogers:

Natalia was visiting when James got word that the Valkyrie had been recovered.

He knew it was coming, not the actual date mind, but he did know it was sometime before 2012. He tried to act surprised, his best friend who everyone thought was dead was actually still kicking, he should be surprised, right? Natalia obviously didn't buy it, but she was his baby girl, so of course she could see right through him. Besides, it wasn't her he needed to fool, just literally everyone else.

S.W.O.R.D. were the ones who called, since Steve was an enhanced he fell under their purview, and they wanted him there when he finally woke up. They hoped a friendly face would help make breaking the news that seventy years had passed a bit easier.

Like that was going to happen.

0o0

James had taken to sitting by Stevie's bedside with a book during the day, and sleeping in one of the nearest rooms at night. He was supposed to be waking soon, but no one had any clue when.

James had just finished his chapter and was considering getting up to grab something from one of the vending machines when Stevie gasped and his eyes came open.

James didn't move, watching Stevie look around for a bit before looking over at him.

Aw, no, those kicked puppy eyes were unfair, stop it!

"B…buck?"

James hadn't been called Bucky in years, so it took him a couple moments before he realized that Stevie was actually talking to him.

He nodded, went to open his mouth…

And got an armful of Steve Rogers for his trouble.

He was shaking, and James was sure he recognized the beginnings of a panic attack, so he began to breath slowly, like he did every time for Natalia, or Tony, on one of their bad days.

"I…I thought… you're dead… am I dead?"

James didn't answer until he got Stevie's breathing to a bit more manageable level.

"Nah, you're not dead."

Stevie looked relieved. Well, better rip the Band-Aid off now.

"But I do got some oher bad news…"

0o0

He'd been right, Stevie did NOT take waking up in the future well.

0o0

He took the news of Peg being married with kids even worse.

0o0

James understood, he really did, but wallowing wasn't getting anyone anywhere.

So that was how he wound up kicking down the door to Stevie's apartment's gym, scaring the few other tenants brave enough to stay when Stevie was in one of his moods, and getting a vaguely insulted-disappointed look from Stevie.

Not that that had ever worked.

What did work, however, was tromping up to Stevie, grabbing him firmly by the arm in exactly the way he did when Stevie was little, and dragging the man away.

"You, me, movie marathon, now!"

All protests were summarily ignored.

0o0

They'd worked their way through the original Star Wars trilogy, The Batman movies, a handful of romantic comedies, and Wall-E, before James felt Stevie was ready for this conversation.

Stevie was less enthusiastic.

"You can't do this to yourself Stevie, it's not healthy."

"I'm fine, it's fine, it's just…"

"Just you woke up straight out of WWII and everything's different, most of the people you know are dead, and there's no HYDRA left to fight."

Stevie's silence meant James was right.

Okay then.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do."

He made sure Stevie was looking directly at him.

"First, we're getting you a therapist; if you don't have some form of PTSD after what's happened, I'm Marilynn Monroe."

"Who?"

"Second! You're going to command school."

Steve looked flabbergasted.

"For what?"

James snorted.

"You want to pick that Captain America shtick back up? Then, if you want people to really respect that, you gotta put in the work for it."

Steve opened his mouth, then closed it as James gave him a look.

"And third!"

Stevie looked apprehensive.

"You need a girlfriend!"

Stevie was so startled he gagged on his spit.

"And no, you can't date my daughter."

"Buck, no! What! I!..."

James laughed himself sick.

0o0

It was rough, but it worked like a charm.

Stevie DID in fact need some therapy, though getting him to go at first was like herding cats. When he was finally comfortable, though, he actually seemed to enjoy it.

That helped with the emotional side.

For the physical and mental side, command school was the best idea James could have thought of. Stevie wanted to prove himself, always had, and the classes not only forced him to work hard, but helped acclimate him to the world's changes historically and politically, and helped keep his focus off of the past.

The continued movie nights also helped.

0o0

Stevie was never able to visit Howard before the man passed, something that hit him pretty hard, but James secretly thought was for the best.

0o0

"I told Howard the serum drove everyone who had it crazy."

It was movie night again, and they were watching through the Bond films, when James finally decided to get it off his chest.

Stevie looked surprised, then hurt.

"What? You really think…?"

"No" James cut him off, not looking at him. "I don't, but I needed Howard to."

Stevie still looked hurt, and a little angry.

"But why?"

James chose to answer his question with a question.

"Did you know Howard and Peg blamed themselves for your death?"

The anger was gone, replaced by surprise.

"What?! Why? They didn't do anything wrong, and besides I just…"

"I know Stevie." His brother was looking at him. "You wanted to save everyone, go down a hero, like your dad, keeping everyone safe. That's just who you are. But Howard and Peg… Well, Peg felt like she could'a talked you out of it or something, but Howard thought he'd failed as both your friend and your gear supplier. He thought he could have made something that could'a helped, could'a stopped the plane, could'a stopped the whole mess. He felt like his own genius had failed him. You were one of his only friends, you know that?"

Stevie shook his head, then stopped, thinking, and then nodded.

"Howard doesn't… didn't have a lot of friends, but the ones he did have he would give the moon to. His son's the same way. But the flaw of that is that he felt HE was responsible for everything, and it was driving him mad. He could'a gone down a very dark path Stevie, I could see it, so I told him the serum drove you crazy, that he couldn't have saved you if he tried. I helped him and Peg move on. They had a funeral for you, ya know? Had the last vial of your blood, took it out to Long Island and had a little service on the beach. Just Howard, Peg, Howard's butler Jarvis, and me. Was real sweet."

James finished and looked at Stevie, who was looking away. His shoulders, though, were tense.

"You lied about me to get Howard and Peg to move on from me."

James nodded. He wasn't sorry for that, but he did feel bad for the rough edge to Stevie's voice.

"My friend, and my best girl…"

"yeah…"

"I just, I can't believe buck…"

He was shaking now, but James didn't dare try to comfort him.

"Stevie…" no response but clenched fists.

"You took my best girl buck…"

"yeah…"

"so you know what I'm going to do…"

Stevie finally looked back at him, a massive smirk on his face.

Oh no, that little…!

"I'm gonna take your daughter on a date!"

No, no way!

"Don't you dare Stevie…!"

0o0

Fortunately, before Stevie could actually do that, aliens attacked.

Unfortunately, fighting aliens meant James was not there when Steive punched out an alien and asked Natalia to dinner. Even if he was shouting over the coms as his daughter, blatantly aware of his opinion on the matter, agreed.

0o0

It wasn't that he disliked Stevie, or the thought of Natalia dating anyone, she was the most dangerous of those two anyway.

No, it was because Steven Grant Rogers, the absolute heathen, had the gall to think the Hobbit films were better than the original trilogy.

That bastard better not corrupt his precious daughter to that line of thinking!

0o0

Tony and Steve didn't officially meet until after the invasion.

James had been there, the thoughts about the last time the three of them were in the same place, in the other lifetime, flashing painfully through his mind.

Tony had stared up at Stevie, and Stevie stared down at him, until Tony stuck out his hand and called Stevie a dancing monkey with a smile on his face. Steve responded by grabbing the offered hand and said it was better a dancing monkey than a bad Robo-Cop cosplay.

James then had to spend the rest of the day arguing with his godson about his habbit of adopting James' people, and no Tony, you already have Natalia, you can't have Stevie too.

Stevie was giving him that insufferable grin of his.

Jerk.

0o0

Steve graduated Command school with flying colors and the party after was legendary. Not the least because Natalia, Tony, and a SWORD agent named Barton, had gotten full reign to plan the whole thing.

The banner saying 'Congratulations actual Cap-sicle' was hilarious, but maybe a bit much.

Still made Stevie cry though.

0o0

There were no Avengers this time, no sokovia accords, no civil war.

No Thanos either, as James pocketed the space-pager and re-read the missive about Thor taking his brother, the scepter, and the tesseract off planet.

There was a knock on his office door, and Natalia stuck her head in.

"Hey dad, everyone's here, movie night's about to start, are you going to join us, or do I have to get Steve in here to drag you?"

James laughed and stood up.

"What do you see in him?"

Natalia gave a one armed shrug.

"He's honest."

James laughed and followed her out.


End file.
